Baby Brother
by SheeWolf85
Summary: Outtake from Faith, Hope, and Love. The last few months of the second pregnancy and the birth of Josie's baby brother. AH, J/N, OS, Rated T for brief language.


A/N: Hey, look! Another outtake! A few people requested this, so I hope it meets expectations.

For those of you who have not seen the announcement yet, I am working on another sequel called In This Skin. It is Josie's story when she is sixteen years old. The first chapter is written and I've made a banner for it. I will start posting when I have a few chapters done, maybe five or so. No promises on when, but keep your eyes open!

Thanks to WolfGirl1335 and CydRen for taking time out of their busy lives to pre-read. You guys rock my socks. Love you!

Enjoy!

* * *

Baby Brother

_**Jacob  
**__October, 2020_

I had been a little nervous about Ness' pregnancy this time. I was hopeful that it wouldn't be as traumatic for her since the first one turned out okay, but I wasn't sure.

She was in her eighth month now, and everything was still going relatively smoothly. We'd had our ups and downs like usual, but nothing had gotten too bad. She'd had a few nightmares like the ones she had with Josie, but I was pretty sure those were due to hormones rather than an actual fear. She felt better about herself this time around, which made me happy. She gained more weight than she had with Josie, but somehow it didn't seem to bother her the way it had before. She was still the sexiest woman in the world.

We were both excited when we learned our baby was a boy. Ness wasn't thrilled to find out that his due date was October thirty-first. She didn't want a Halloween baby. I thought it'd be pretty awesome, and Josie agreed with me.

We didn't have as hard a time picking out a name for baby number two. Ness still wanted her baby boy to have my middle name, and I still thought it was kind of silly but I let her do it. It wasn't like Eli was such a terrible name.

As Eli's due date came closer, Ness and I developed a plan. We wanted Josie to be able to be there for the birth, but not in the room while it was happening. While we both knew it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event, I couldn't be there for Ness and watch Josie at the same time. I talked to Leah and asked her to be at the hospital to watch Josie for us while Ness had the baby. Of course she agreed to do it. I was relieved; it was another thing off my mind.

The week of Halloween finally arrived. We were nervous to do much for the holiday, but I still wasn't about to let Josie go without dressing up and doing something. She wanted to be a cat, and Ness wanted to be a Suzy Homemaker, so we made Josie's outfit. Well, Ness made Josie's outfit. It turned out to be a little black jumpsuit with some sparkly, white spots painted on, a tail, and a headband with ears. I got to paint her face. I did the standard black nose with little lines for whiskers on her cheeks. She was the cutest cat anyone had ever seen. We joked about Faith chasing her, but the dog didn't do anything but wag her tail when Josie petted her.

With no signs of labor by six o'clock that night, we decided to play it dangerous and go to Leah's house so the kids could all go trick-or-treating together. Sam was going to go with them in case something happened with Ness. Hannah and Josie laughed together when it turned out they had done pretty much the same thing. Hannah was a tiger, though.

"What happened to the ninja?" I asked. She had been all about being a ninja the month before.

Hannah scrunched her nose at me. "Ninjas are boys. I'm not a boy." She put her hands on her hips to accentuate to her attitude. I just chuckled and turned to check out Josh's costume. He was ten now and dressed as a pirate, complete with bandana, eye patch, gold hoop earring, and fake parrot. I gave him a high five.

The kids left, candy bags in hand, at seven o'clock. I helped Ness ease onto the couch and talked for a while. Leah and I went back and forth giving candy out to the kids who stopped by. By the time ours got back, they all had more candy than they could eat in two years. Sam and I went through all the bags before we let them dig into it. Once they had free reign, they dumped it into three separate piles and traded what they didn't want with each other.

* * *

"Am I ever going to have this baby?" Ness complained. It was November fourth. I'd just put Josie to bed and had come in our room find Ness laying down on her back. Faith was on the floor on her side, all of her legs sprawled out in front of her. Nessie sighed and looked down at her stomach. "Hey, you in there. Don't make me come get you."

I laid down next to her on the bed and put my hand on her huge stomach. "Of course you'll have the baby. You heard what the doctor said. As long as everything is okay and your water hasn't broken, there's nothing wrong with letting the baby stay as long as he wants, within reason. If he hasn't made an appearance in another week, we'll start talking other options, okay?"

She looked at me and pouted. "But I wanna be done being pregnant now," she whined. "I want to hold him in my arms and hug him and see his little face." Her eyes watered. "I just want to see my son."

"Oh, Ness, don't cry." I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her. "Baby, don't cry. It's okay."

She turned into me as much as she could and put her face in my shoulder. "It's not okay, Jake. I'm tired and uncomfortable and I can't sleep."

I furrowed my brow. "You didn't tell me you were having trouble sleeping." I pushed her back enough to see her face and wiped her under her eyes. "I need you to tell me these things."

She sniffled. "I know, but I don't want to keep you awake too. It's so hard to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I want to lay on my stomach, but obviously that's not going to happen."

I pulled her close again and kissed her head. "I'm sorry, baby. I wish I could make it easier for you. If nothing happens in the next few days, we'll talk to the doctor about speeding it up, okay?"

She nodded against my chest. "Okay. Promise me it'll only be a few more days."

"Let's say Friday. That's only two days."

"Friday will work. Thank you, Jake." She kissed my neck.

"Of course, babe. Let's try to get some sleep. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

She sighed and rolled to her back. "I don't know. You go to sleep, Jake."

I propped myself up on my elbow and raised an eyebrow at her. "Nope. You know me, Ness. I'm a determined asshole; I'm not going to sleep until you at least give me something to try."

She groaned. "Fine. Would you rub my feet? They hurt. And I feel like I haven't even seen them in two months."

I leaned forward to kiss her. "You know I will, Ness." I sat up on the edge of the bed by her feet and put them in my lap. They were a swollen and looked really uncomfortable. I was gentle and paid close attention to her to make sure I didn't hurt her. She moaned with happiness after a few minutes, and I noticed a little smile spread over her lips. I smirked to myself. Although I knew she was probably the furthest thing from turned on, I wondered if I could somehow turn this into something else. I worked on her feet and her ankles and slowly worked up her legs a little. When I looked up at her again a few minutes later, she was already asleep.

"Well, at least you're resting now," I said, knowing she probably couldn't hear me. "Sleep well, babe." I got up and put her feet down then crawled back in beside her.

Friday came up faster than I thought it should have. I took Josie to kindergarten at eight-thirty and went back home to see Ness had gotten out of bed and made some toast.

"So," she said almost as soon as I shut the door. "Nothing yet." She seemed unreasonably happy about that. "When do we call the doctor?"

I walked up to her and gave her a kiss. "I'll call him now if you want."

She nodded. "Please."

I pulled the phone out of my pocket to do what she'd asked. As it was ringing, I noticed her tense up.

"You okay?"

Her eyes widened, and she stood up. "Oh, God. I think my water just broke." She looked down; her pants looked like she'd just peed in them. "Jake!"

I shut the phone and took her arm. "It's okay, babe—"

Her face scrunched up and she nearly doubled over with a scream. I caught her and held her up.

"No!" she screamed. "Not okay! Baby!"

"Okay. Okay, Ness. Let's get to the car. Once you're in the car, I'll come back for our things."

"Stop being so fucking rational, Jake! Just do it!"

I almost laughed. Instead, I helped her out the car and ran back in for her bag and anything else I might need. On the way to the hospital, I told Ness to just breathe while I called Leah and asked her to pick Josie up from school and bring her to the hospital. Next I called the hospital to let them know we were on our way.

"It's gonna be okay, baby," I told Ness as we got out of the car. "This'll be fine."

She panted and clung to me as I helped her into the wheelchair to get her inside. "It damn well better be."

The second time around wasn't much different from the first. At least this time I knew I could trust the doctors and nurses running around. I still found myself yelling orders at them to hurry their asses up and deliver my baby. Ness gripped my hand so hard I swear it nearly broke.

"Sit down and shut up, Jake. I really need you to focus for me."

I swallowed and dragged a stool up next to the bed so I could sit down. I walked her through the breathing processes and told her she was doing an amazing job. By the time Dr. Peterson finally showed up to check on her, she was already dilated to a five. It seemed this birth was going to go quickly.

Sometime between when Dr. Peterson left and the heavy contractions started, Leah texted me let me know she had Josie and was in the waiting room. I felt myself relax and told Ness what was going on.

"Oh, thank God," she whispered. "I was really hoping Josie wouldn't miss this. You'll bring her in after—" Her jaw clenched and she growled as another contraction hit. My fingers were going numb, but I didn't say anything about it.

"After Eli's settled, I'll bring her in to see you and the baby." I leaned over and kissed her head. "Don't worry, baby; I've got it all covered."

She nodded and looked at me. "Thank you, Jake. Thank you for being so wonderful through all of this. I really couldn't have done it without you." Her eyes watered, and she sniffled. "I know I've been kind of mean, and I'm sorry."

I chuckled and kissed her lips. "Don't apologize to me, Ness. You haven't been mean; you've been hormonal and grumpy. It's okay. I still love you."

Her lips trembled. "I love you, too."

She grunted and cried out with another contraction. A few moments later, Dr. Peterson came in and declared her ready to push. I did my best to support Ness as best as I could and still keep my limbs attached. Before long, the doctor stood up and told Ness and me that we had a baby boy. I cut the umbilical cord and watched as the nurses wrapped him a blue blanket and handed him to Ness. She was crying openly and reached out to me. I grabbed her hand and looked into the still-bloody but absolutely perfect face of my son. I glanced at the clock. Eleven-fifteen in the morning.

"You did so good," I told her. "I'm so proud of you, Ness."

She was almost sobbing as she looked at me. "Jake . . . Thank you. I'm so happy."

"He's a beautiful boy," one of the nurses said as she pressed buttons on a machine. "What's his name?"

Ness sniffled and looked at me. I smiled and answered for her. "Eli Anthony Black," I said.

The nurse nodded. "I like that name. Is it family?"

I nodded. "Eli's my middle name and Anthony is her father's middle name."

"That's nice. I'll be right back." The nurse walked out, probably to round up the others and clean up the baby. It didn't take long before they showed up to do just that and take his measurements. He was a whole six pounds and twenty-two inches long.

"Jake?" Ness said softly. Her eyes were already starting to droop.

I kissed her. "What is it, baby?"

"After they move me, will you go get Josie?"

"Of course. You just need to relax now, okay?" I smoothed her hair down as best as I could.

She smiled. "Okay."

As soon as I knew which room Ness was moving to, I went out to the waiting room. Leah was sitting in one of the chairs with Josie on her lap while they read a magazine. She looked up when I came in. Josie jumped off Leah's lap and ran up to me.

"Hey, little bug!" I picked her up. "Are you ready to meet your brother?"

She nodded vehemently. "Yes."

"He's very fragile, so you have to be careful, okay?"

She nodded again. "Okay, Daddy."

I put her down and looked at Leah.

"You're coming, too, aren't you?"

She didn't get up. She crossed her legs and flipped the page of the magazine. "If you think I'm leaving here without seeing that little bundle of newborn cuteness, you're dead wrong. But, you guys need your family time first. I'll be fine here for a little while. Go on."

I chuckled and took Josie to Ness' room. She was resting with Eli. Her eyes were closed, but she opened them when we came in. She gave us an exhausted smile and reached out with one hand to give Josie a little hug.

"Hi, honey," she said softly. "Ready to meet Eli?"

She nodded. "Is that really him?" she asked, pointing at the blanket-wrapped bundle in Ness' arms.

"Yes. He's tiny, isn't he?" Ness adjusted him so Josie could see him better.

Josie's mouth was open with wonder as she nodded. She didn't say anything as she reached out very gently to touch his forehead.

Ness looked up at me. "Do you want to help her hold him?"

I nodded. "Sure. Josie, do you want to hold him?"

She looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm afraid I'll hurt him."

I crouched down again to see her better. "Don't worry. Daddy will help you."

She smiled then and nodded. "Yes, I want to."

I stood up and took Eli from Ness. I sat in the recliner and had Josie get up on my lap before I maneuvered Eli so both Josie and I had our arms around him. She took a moment to look him over.

"Was I this small?" she asked wondrously.

I kissed her head. "You were even smaller. Not by much, but Eli has a few inches on you."

"Wow." She watched him for a few minutes. She almost panicked when he squirmed, but I had a good enough hold on him to make sure he didn't fall. His eyes opened for a second before he yawned. Josie laughed. "He's cute." His eyes stayed open to watch his sister. "Hi, Eli," she said softly. "I'm your big sister, Josie."

I looked over at Ness to see her sleeping. I couldn't blame her.

Josie and I held Eli until he started to fuss. I got up and changed his diaper then woke Ness up to feed him. I hated doing it, but she had asked me to. Neither of us wanted him to have formula and she hadn't had a chance to pump any milk. While Ness was nursing him, I texted Leah to tell her she could come back and the room we were in. She showed up a few seconds later.

"It almost makes me want another one," she said as she held him. She lightly touched his nose. "You're so cute you make my ovaries hurt."

Ness laughed weakly. "Talk to Sam about that."

Leah smiled. "Oh, no. We're not having anymore. Two little rascals are plenty. Besides, that just means I get to spoil this one even more." She kissed his forehead. "Little Eli, the baby of the family."

She gave him back to Ness when he started to fuss again. Josie was getting restless, so I asked Leah to take her home. She was happy to do it. Once she was gone and Eli was settled in his bassinet, I sat in the recliner and hoped to get some rest.

* * *

Ness and I both woke up to Eli crying. I kissed her head and told her to lay back down; I'd get him. She didn't argue with me.

We had been home for two weeks and so far things were going great. I was looking forward to rearranging Josie's room to put Eli in with her until we could get a bigger place. Having Eli in our room was fine for now, but eventually I'd want to have sex with my wife again.

I changed Eli and fed him then I spent a half an hour rocking him to get him to go back to sleep. Unlike Josie, the little guy preferred his mommy's affections.

I looked up when I heard a small knock on the bedroom door. "Daddy?" Josie said softly.

I beckoned her to come in. "What's wrong, honey?"

She yawned and came in, dragging her favorite bear behind her. "I woke up after Eli did and I couldn't go back to sleep. Is he okay?"

I shifted Eli to hold him with one arm and had Josie get on my lap with the other. "He's fine, Josie. Babies sleep a lot, but they also wake up a lot, especially the first few weeks."

She nodded and leaned her head on my shoulder. "Do they have to get up in the middle of the night?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, they do. You know how sometimes you wake up and need a drink?" She nodded. "Well, that's kind of why he's waking up. He can't eat real food like you and me; he can only eat the milk Mommy makes. But his tummy is so small that it doesn't last him long and he gets hungry fast. So when he's hungry, he wakes up."

She nodded and yawned again. "When will he stop?"

"I don't really know, baby. You didn't stop until you were about five months old. It's different for each baby."

She sat up again and lifted the bear onto her lap. "Do you think it would help if I gave Sarah to him?"

I smiled. As she grew older and I told her and re-told her the stories about each bear, she decided not to change their names. All of them were still Sarah. The one she had in her hands was Sarah Six; it was dark brown with beige on its belly and paws.

"Honey, I think it's very sweet of you to offer, but he can't have anything in his crib with him yet."

She looked at the bear then at her brother. "I'll put her aside for him. When can he have her?"

My heart warmed at the thought of my daughter giving her favorite bear to my son. I kissed her head. "Why don't you keep her on your bed like usual? Keep her company so she doesn't get lonely. When the time comes, I'll let you give her to him if you still want to, okay?"

She hugged the bear and nodded. "Okay."

I looked down at Eli. He was out. I patted Josie's hip and she slipped off my lap. "I'll put him to bed then I'll come tuck you in again."

She yawned again and walked out of the room. I gently kissed Eli's head and laid him down in his crib before I went to make sure Josie was back in bed.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Drop a review and let me know how you liked :)


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